


Independant Research

by IWannaDoBadThingsWithYou237



Series: Grace Sarah Barnes-Rogers [10]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Steve and Bucky are dads, Steve and Bucky are married
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-07-16 02:33:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7248607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IWannaDoBadThingsWithYou237/pseuds/IWannaDoBadThingsWithYou237
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky knew one day this would come. He just thought he’d have more time. And preferably Steve by his side. </p><p> </p><p>Bucky has to go away on a mission, Grace does research, and Steve is bemused, confused and in love with his family. <br/>Fluffy fic. </p><p> </p><p>Can be seen as a sort of follow up to ‘Our Broken Crowns’</p>
            </blockquote>





	Independant Research

**Author's Note:**

> So this is another fic 
> 
> If you had prompts for this series or any other I've written then please send them in, i have my notes back up so i can take them again and start posting, if you have any other prompts then please send them in to.

Bucky has an hour before he has to go on his mission.

Thankfully it’s a forty eight hour extraction. He’s relieving T’Challa in Wakanda of a HYDRA solider supposedly interested in rebuilding the serum.

(Insert Tony Stark and Bruce Banner’s long overdue rant that ‘The serum cannot be replaced so will these idiots please stop wasting our time’ speech)

Bucky’s only going because Natasha’s in Siberia and Clint in Moscow and Steve’s still not cleared for duty after _‘That reckless and idiotic damage he did to himself during that stupid mission where he lobbed his body around and then got impaled and scared Bucky stupid’_ incident last week.

(As Bucky has taken to calling it)

Right now he’s forgoing the mission prep with Natasha via conference call to snuggle with his head in Steve’s lap from where he’s been tucked up in bed for the better part of the afternoon. His arm and side are stiff and the two ribs which were nearly crushed have moved back now into the cracked stage.

Steve’s hands are in his hair (cut short since Grace was born) and Bucky’s eyes are closed.

His phone buzzes disrupting the quiet. Make that half an hour till the mission.

Steve’s fingers tighten in his scalp for a second before loosening.

“Gracie” he says softly as Bucky huffs himself into a sitting position. “Come and say goodbye to Daddy”

Grace staggers in a few seconds later narrowly avoiding the bed. Steve winces. She hoists herself up onto the bed, little five year old expression tight in concentration, unicorn pyjama’s crumpled and hair loose around her face.

“Yours’ll be back soon right?” she answers looking between the two of them and Steve chuckles softly.

“Course I will Angel” Bucky says grinning. “Couldn’t miss your project now could I?”

Everytime one of them goes away they assign a certain project for Grace to do. It helps keep her mind of things and most of the time its harmless kids’ stuff anyway. Stuff that when Grace turns into a teenager she wouldn’t be caught dead doing but stuff that right now she seems to enjoy.

“How about spelling?” Bucky asks innocently. “Seasons? Maybe and a sentence underneath about why each season is different”

“I can do that” Grace says confidently. “Can I use the computer?”

Bucky shrugs “I suppose so, just make sure someone’s there with you”

“Not Uncle Tony” Steve says eyes closed. Probably in pain as he remembers the last time.

“I liked the game where we had to create and colour in our own Avengers” Grace says grinning. “I made the Iron Man suit much better, pink and purple”

“And boy did Tony never let us forget it” Bucky muttered.

“I gotta go” he says as the phone chimes again. He smooths down Grace’s hair and presses a kiss into the blonde tresses and allows his flesh hand to rest on the side of Steve’s face.

“Look after yourself” he says gently.

Steve’s so very blue eyes catch his for a brief second before he turns to kiss the skin of Bucky’s palm.

“See ya” he says softly and Bucky nods.

He hates leaving the warmth of that room but he does so anyway even as all he wants to do is crawl back into Steve’s arms and pretend that there is nothing dangerous out there.

 

 

 

 

Grace doesn’t mean to do it. Really. She’s on the computer Papa still in bed his shoulder hurting too much to move but he has FRIDAY and Auntie Wanda is three floors below with Uncle Vision and they can get up here easily.

She’s on the computer typing in pictures of the seasons, Uncle Tony’s computer having a drop down, it’s only when she gets to winter that she pauses.

The drop down says Winter Soldier. Grace pauses because that’s Daddy’s Avenger name.

She clicks on it just for fun and then stops when she’s the news articles. Grace might be five but she can read.

 

 

 

 

When Bucky comes back forty eight hours later he’s pretty sure that he’s damaged his back and needs a shower, a hot meal and Steve’s smile.

Preferably the latter first.

It’s dark when he comes home and he fixes himself some coffee least he fall asleep on the floor. His back aches the scar tissue tingling and he shifts himself into a chair. He can have one cup and then stagger into bed and curl up next to Steve.

He finished his coffee and was just contemplating falling asleep in his chair versus crawling into bed with Steve when he heard the patter of feet against the wooden floors. A little pitter patter he was achingly familiar with.

It was Grace. Her blonde hair was loose again though she was in a different set of pyjama’s this time, red ones with little yellow stars on them and she was hiding something behind her back.

“Papa sleep” she said letting out a tiny yawn that made Bucky smile pathetically with how cute it was.

“As you should be Angel” he said grinning.

Grace looked at him then before she ducked her head down to the ground but not before Bucky could get a look at her expression, for a tiny little five year old it was full of worry.

“Something wrong darling?” he asked shifting slightly.

“I need to ask you something” Grace said quietly.

“That being the something you have behind your back?” he asked.

Grace dithers.

“I was looking up the def…the…” she trails off.

“Definitions” Bucky supplies smiling gently. Grace nods.

“I got to the winter one and I found out somethings…well…I found out about…you…”

Bucky stared. “Me?”

“Winter Soldier” Grace supplied.

Bucky felt his stomach plummet and he sat up straighter all remnants of sleep gone. Suddenly he knew what Grace was holding in her tiny hand, It was a newspaper clipping of the hearing that he’d been forced to attend after the whole Accords debacle. It had a full listing of his crimes.

Including the murders.

He and Steve had talked, especially after Grace had seen his PTSD episode a few months back where he’d hurt Steve. They’d spoke at length about what to tell Grace about HYDRA, about the brainwashing and the pain the both of them had gone through.

He had just always banked on Steve being with him. Holding his hand and keeping him upright, his love supporting him through thick and thin.

_Till the end of the line._

_Please_ he prayed to anyone who was listening. _Please don’t let me lose my daughter._

“Gracie” he said trying to keep his voice steady. “Come here” he held out his hands.

Grace came to him _thank you God_ and she curled up onto his lap with all her hair and pointy elbows and not so insignificant weight and Bucky couldn’t care less because she was here.

“Gracie you remember when Papa told you that some bad people messed around in my brain and made me do some bad things?” he asked carefully. Grace nodded pulling back so that they were facing each other.

“Uncle Bruce says the brain is the most special part of the body” she muttered. Bucky nodded.

“And he’s right, and it was thanks to Uncle Bruce that the bad parts of my brain got fixed and your Papa was there the whole time and he held my hand.” Bucky said refusing to dwell on those days where all he’d known was pain and fear and how he’d known he was in love with Steve but didn’t know if Steve was still in love with him.

“Gracie you know” he said forcing his voice steady. “You know I would never, _never_ hurt you or your Papa right?”

_Please Grace, please._

“Oh I know that” Grace said her tone filled with the distain she used whenever Steve took away the Ice Cream and cookies. “Of course you wouldn’t” she waved her hand a movement Bucky knew she’d copied from Steve when the reporters were in his face.

“But it said the brainwashing” she spelled out the word hesitantly, “Was ex…” she trailed off struggling with the word.

“Excruciating” Bucky said gently and Grace nodded this time her thumb drifting to her mouth.

“That’s bad” she lisped quietly. “That’s really bad isn’t it?”

Bucky dithered for a split second.

“Yes” he said finally. “It was really, really bad”

“I’m Sowry” Grace said finally burying her face in his chest. Bucky shook his head curling his arm around Grace tighter.

“Nothing is your fault my love” he said his voice tight. He’d had this conversation with Steve more than once. “I’m right here with you and your other Dad and we both love you more than words can say” he crumpled up the sheets of paper in his hand the metal curling them into fists without hesitation.

“Do you still hurt now?” Grace asked and damn she was like Steve, to damn perspective for her own good. Bucky paused.

“Sometimes” he said finally “But when I do your Papa tucks me up in bed and holds me till I feel better again, like you do when you feel sick”

“Oh” Grace said finally. “So you are happy then?” her voice was now sleep ridden and her breathing shallow and Bucky pressed another kiss into his hair because somehow this was his…this girl was his…Steve was his.

“Angel I am very happy when I’m with you” he said truthfully. “I love you and Papa very, very much”

“I love you right back” Grace muttered her eyes finally falling shut. Bucky swallowed back the lump in his throat as Grace’s breathing evened out and the kitchen returned back to his quiet state.

“Your back” said a quiet voice from the doorway and Bucky looked up to see Steve watching him bed hair and crumpled boxers all in his glory.

“Yeah” Bucky said finally. “You hear that?” he asked again. Steve nodded.

“You ok?” Steve asked finally.

Bucky smiled tiredly his arms full with his sleeping child.

“Wonderful” he said standing up and hooking Grace onto his hip her head lolling onto his shoulder. “Been granted a reprieve apparently”

Steve stared at him for a second his eyes very soft and blue before he held out his hand. Bucky took it with his flesh hand and allowed himself to be led from the room.

Later when they were settled down in bed, Grace curled up between them and Steve propped up on several pillows the blonde’s hands found Bucky’s hair.

“Love you Bucky” he said finally into the darkness.

“Love you right back Stevie” Bucky said back his eyes fluttering closed.

And right now the Solider was content and the man utterly thankful.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback and Prompts are both adored.
> 
> Enjoy.


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